Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1887-10-01

girl who came near TO him of similar de-
signs. "These young parties have q way
of looking at one, SIR" he would say, apol-
ogetically, (which / don't call respectable"
This fresh room was twice the size of the
sleeping caves, and l saw at once that it
had originally served as d refectory, and
also probably as an embalming- groom for
the priests Of the Dead; for l may as well
say at once these hOllowed-out caves were
nothing more or less than vast catacombs,
in which for tens OF ages the mortal re-
mains OF the great extinct race whose
monuments surrounded us had been first
preserved, with an art and a completeness
that have never since been equaled, and
then hidden away for all time. On each
side OF this rock chamber was a long solid
stone table, about three feet wide by three
feet six In height, hewn out Of the living
rock, of which it had formed part. and was
still attached to at the base. The tables
were slightly followed out or curved in
ward, to give room for the knees Of any
one sitting on the stone ledge that had
been cut for q bench along the side Of the
cave at a distance of about two feet from
them. Each of them was SO arranged that
it ended right under a shaft pierced in the
rock for the admission of light and air.
On examining them carefully, however, l
saw that there was a difference between
them that had at first escaped my atten-
ton, viz, that one Of the tables-that TO
the left rs we entered the cave-had evf-
IDENTIFY been used, not to eat on, but for tbs
purpose of embalming bodies. That this
was beyond all question the case was clear
from FIVE shallow depressions in the stone
of the table, all shaped like ahuman form,
xy;th an 30 m rata rInca for fha hoo1 IN 1to
in, and a little bridge to support the neck,
each depression being Of o different size,
80 as to fit bodies varying in stature from
full-grown mans to a small child's, and
with little holes bored at intervals to carry
off fluid. And indeed, il any further con-
firmation was required, one had but to
look ut the wall of the cave above to find
it. For there, sc%ulptured all round the
apartment, and looking nearly as fresh as
the day ii was done, was the pictorial re-
presentation of the death, embalming, and
burial OF an old man with IA long beard,
probably an ancient king or grandee of this
country.
The first picture represented his death.
He was lying upon a couch which had four
short curved posts at the corners, coming
to "A knoll at the end, in appearance some
thing like a written note OF music, and was
evidently in the very act OF expiring.
Gathered round the couch were women and
children weeping, the former with their
hair hanging down their back. The next
scene represented the EN- calming of the
body, which lay nude upon a table with
depressionS iR it similar to the one before
us; probably, indeed, it wds n picture OF
the same table. Three men were employed
at the work-one experimenting, one hold
ing a funnel shaped exactly like a port
wine strainer, of which the narrow end
was fixed in an incision in the breast, no
doubt in the great pectoral artery, while
the third, who was represented as standing
straddle-legged over the corpse, held a kind
Of large jug high in his hand, and poured
from 1t some steaming fluid, which fell %
curately into the funnel.
The third sculpture represented the bur
ial of the deceased. There he was, stiff
and cold, clothed in a linen robe, n laid
out on q stone slab sue as ! had sleptupon
at our first sojourning place. At his head
and feet burned a lamp, and by his side
were placed several Of the beautiful paint
ed vases that l have described, which were
probably supposed to be full OF provisions.
The little chamber was crowded with
mourners, and with musicians playing on
u sort of Tyre, while near the foot Of the
corpse stood a man with a sheet, will
which he was preparing to cover it from
view.
These sculptures, looked at merely as
works of art, were so remarkable that l
make no apology for describing them rath-
er fully. They struck me also as being OF
surprising interest us representing, prob
ably with studious accuracy, the last rites
of the dead as practiced among an utterly
lost people, and even then | thought how
envious some antiquarian friends of my
at Cambridge would be il ever / got
an opportunity of describing these won
derful remains to them. Probably they
would say that / was eXaggerating, not
withstanding that every page OF this his
tory must bear so much internal evidence
OF it's truth that it would obviously have
been quite impossible for me to have in
vented it.
: 10 return. As soon as I had hastily X
} amined these sculptures, which | think l
) omitted TO mention were executed in re-
! lief. we sat down to q very excellent meal
!, of boiled goats flesh, fresh milk, and cakes
made of meal, the whole beingseryed upon
) clean wooden p~latters.
: When we had eaten we returned to see
: how poor Leo was getting on, B.iali say
. ing that he must now wait upon she and
! her commands. On reaching Leo's room
: we found the boy in 1t very bad way. Tic
: had woke up from his %torI>r, and was al
:. together of his head. bahbiing about some
y boat-race on the Cam, and was inclined t
: be violent. Indeed, when we entered TIT
. room, Ustane was holding him down.
= spoke to him, and my voice seemed t.
= soothe him; at any rate he grew mucl
:, quieter, and was persuaded to swallow
\ dose of q~uininc.
4 had been sitting with him for an hour
a perhaps-at any rate / know that it wa
a getting so dark that could only just max
2. out his head lying like n CLEAN of gold mp
q on the pillow we had extemporized out o
q q bag covered with blanket-when sudden
" Billali arrived with an dir Of great i'm
p~oytance, and informed me that She heI
% self had deigned to express a wish to Sc
n mean honor, he added, accorded to bu
very few. think that he was a little hoI
D, rifed at my cool way OF taking the honor
but the fact was that / did not feel over
whelmed with gratitude at the prospect @
q seeing some savage dusky queen, howeve
a absolute and mysterious she might be
more especially as my mind was full Q
dear Leo. for whose life / began to hav